by Joseph Powell

Jules Verne first imagined using hydrogen generated from water in his 1875 novel “Mysterious Island.” Now, we can use renewable or nuclear electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The resulting hydrogen is a molecular energy vector (fuel), which can be combusted for heat, or used to produce electrical power via a fuel cell which avoids the energy penalty of combustion (heat) engines. Whether burned or reacted in a fuel cell, hydrogen produces  only water vapor as primary product, and hence is considered “zero emission”.  

While it takes twice as much energy to make hydrogen compared to directly using renewable energy to generate electricity, its higher energy density makes it a promising option for many applications. Hydrogen could supply up to 20% of future energy needs with near-zero emissions.¹

UH ETI recently participated in a book describing hydrogen global applications, which is free for download.²

More episodes are available at HoustonPublicMedia.org/UHEnergy.

Reference:

¹ DOE (2023):  U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/us-national-clean-hydrogen-strategy-roadmap.pdf?sfvrsn=c425b44f_

² W. J. Nuttall, J. B. Powell, K. L. Anaya-Stucchi, A. T. Bakenne and A. Wilson, Insights into the New Hydrogen Economy, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2025. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-71833-5